ATLANTA — Homeowners in Brookhaven are demanding answers after they claim contractors installing faster internet in their neighborhood cut their water lines, leaving them without water for hours.
City officials told Channel 2’s Michael Seiden that they are frustrated with what’s going on and they are trying their best to address these homeowners’ headaches.
But ultimately, it’s up to the utility companies to come out and mark their underground lines.
In North Brookhaven’s Nancy Creek Heights neighborhood homeowners, like Stephanie Tavani, say they are fed up with the citywide project that’s become a neighborhood nuisance.
“It’s just annoying. It’s just a frustration.”
The wife and mother of 3 said for the last two weeks, contractors installing Google Fiber in her neighborhood have damaged water lines, which has left her and her neighbors without any running water.
“It was Monday, one day, and this week, it was two days in a row,” Tavani said.
For some of her neighbors, the project has led to unexpected expenses.
“I guess the water burst close to their house and the driveway was damaged and they had to put in a whole new driveway,” Tavani said.
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According to city officials, Google Fiber is being installed underground almost exclusively in public right of ways.
“They are a government utility, so the city does not have any legislative or otherwise oversight onto a utility as that’s governed by state and federal law,” said Burke Brennan, communications director for the city of Brookhaven.
Before Google Fiber began its work, the city said, utility companies were required to mark their underground lines.
“We are continuing to advocate on behalf of our residents,” Burke said.
But right now, it remains unclear what went wrong.
“We just want it to be addressed and we want the city and the Google people to know what’s going on,” Tavani said.
In a statement, Google Fiber said:
"Google Fiber takes the safety of local community members very seriously during construction and follows local guidelines during the process, including locating any existing utilities before beginning work. Residents can always call (877) 454-6959 with any construction concerns they may have, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Brookhaven Mayor John Park recently mailed the following update to more than 26,000 addresses within the city limits:
“As we approach the holiday season and the end of 2024, I wanted to reach out and provide an update on the Google Fiber installation throughout the City of Brookhaven, an issue which affects or will affect nearly every property owner in the City.
“Google Fiber is being installed underground almost exclusively in public right of ways (ROW). For background, ROW’s include not just roads and sidewalks, but also includes infrastructure owned by various utilities. This includes DeKalb County water and sewer, Atlanta Gas Light, Georgia Power, and various other telecommunication companies, like Google Fiber.
“State and Federal laws prohibit local governments like Brookhaven from denying or controlling the use of the ROW by utilities. However, the City can and does require a Right-of-Way Encroachment Permit to ensure traffic impact is coordinated and other utilities are notified of the work in the ROW. The City has prepared a public service video on the public ROW that describes the interaction of the utilities, Brookhaven, the public, and ROW and private property. This video can be viewed at the following link: https://youtu.be/VAl3um24JzY
“The City has over 10,000 residential properties and Google Fiber is about 30% complete in their installation. Google Fiber estimates that the entire City will be completed by the end of 2025. Most of the time, the
“Google Fiber installation is going well. However, as one can imagine after decades of utilities installed, upgraded, moved, and repaired, the ROW is crowded. During the Google Fiber installation to date, less than 1% of the parcels have experienced a utility “strike”, usually a water line but fortunately no gas lines to date.
“Sometimes that strike does occur with irrigation lines and invisible dog fence lines that are not supposed to be in the ROW. When one utility damages another utility during work, it is the responsibility of the impacted utility to respond, repair, and remediate any property damage. This is because the utilities are responsible for accurately locating and marking utilities before Google Fiber’s contractors start digging.”
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